


pops joined the family

by SerpentineJ



Series: lupin ot5 ficlets [2]
Category: Lupin III
Genre: Multi, i love the ot5, in canon verse actually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-11-05 23:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11023854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerpentineJ/pseuds/SerpentineJ
Summary: ot5, snippet group that turned from random to a "zeni fitting in with the criminals" arc.





	pops joined the family

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: in canon verse, started as snippets but grew some kind of bastardized plot...?
> 
> kinda zenigata-centric. ish. next up in the ot5 shorts series will be either fujiko-centric-ish or uni au

"Go-e-mon." Lupin whines, sprawled across the couch. 

Goemon doesn't open his eyes, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, arms folded, his sword propped in the crook of his elbow.

"What, Lupin." He says.

"Hand me the remote." Lupin swings his legs over the back of the sofa- they're in Spain right now, flush with cash and lying low from Zenigata and the ICPO entourage afteir their latest heist. Of course, Zenigata will come storming into town in a day's time anyways, because he knows them better than anyone and has a ridiculous network of contacts for someone so unsociable, but for now the four of them are content to have fled South America and the unnamed-but-infamous gang and drug-running ring whose kingpin they may or may not have pissed off.

("It's not my fault!" Lupin exclaims for the dozenth time, but Jigen and Goemon exchange matching long-suffering glances.)

"Don't do it, Goemon." Jigen drawls insistently, splayed lax on Goemon's other side, legs long and lanky, crossed at the ankles and propped up on the coffee table. Their apartment in Spain is clean and furnished with wood-accented furniture, and a wide window with white linen shades drawn to block the searing Mediterranean midday sun. It fills the room with muted light and casts soft shadows over everything. The air is warm and hazy. It's the kind of hazy, Jigen thinks idly, that makes one forget which part is inside one's body and which part is out, and where the barrier of skin is that separates their flesh and the air, because everything seems to be the same temperature.

One of Jigen's westerns is playing on the American channel Lupin had jerry-rigged so he could watch the kind of cheap game shows that aired late at night in the States. Dramatic music plays on tinny speakers, accompanying a scene that's supposed to be suspenseful, Goemon supposes, but it feels a bit cheesy- Jigen is watching with what is, for him, rapt attention from under the brim of his hat.

Lupin drops an arm across Goemon's lap, feeling around for the remote. He doesn't find it, because Jigen had grabbed it the moment Lupin's hand had twitched, and it's now safely between his legs. Lupin's hand loses energy, discouraged, and stills over Goemon's knee.

"I knew Jigen was your favorite." Lupin pouts. It's funny, Goemon thinks, that though he's the youngest, he rarely feels it. "Not fair."

Goemon lets his eyes slip open, and he glances down at Lupin's half-smile. Lupin always seems to be smiling.

"Hmm. It's 'cause I'm so charming." Jigen says lazily, letting his fingers brush against the material of Goemon's pants over his folded knee. "Lupin, on the other hand..."

Lupin sits up at the provocation.

"Hey!" He exclaims, indignant. "Everyone knows I'm the most lovable. the great Arsène Lupin III, gentleman thief, stealing hearts and valuables all over the world-"

Jigen scoffs.

"You mean, taking the credit for his partners' hard work, and letting the treasure end up in the hands of some woman half the time." He scowls, turning his head a fraction and sliding to slump further into the couch. 

"Hmm... I can steal things that can't be taken away too, you know." Lupin smirks, and before Jigen has a moment to blink, reaches up to wrap his arms around Goemon's neck and pull him into a warm, full kiss. After a moment, the tension leaks out of his shoulders and he bends over a fraction to return the kiss and lets his hands fall to Lupin's sides, his eyes fluttering shut again. Lupin's lips are heated and playful, like the man himself, and he his tongue occasionally darts out to lick Goemon's lips, teasing. 

Beside him, Jigen makes a disgruntled noise, but props up the brim of his hat to watch.

"You're the worst." He says. His eyes track the soft press of the other two's lips and flick to the way Goemon's fingers curl around Lupin's ribs, how Lupin's forearms tangle around Goemon's neck, his hands sinking into soft black hair. "Hey, don't you need to breathe?"

Lupin breaks away from Goemon and grins cheekily. He releases Goemon's neck and falls to rest his head on Goemon's thigh, arching his neck to look upside-down at Jigen.

"Jealous?" He sing-songs, teasing. 

Jigen scowls and shifts his weight. His hand comes up to grip the junction of Goemon's neck and shoulder. Both Lupin and Goemon see the smirk that raises Jigen's lips before he presses them to Goemon's.

In stark comparison to Lupin's kisses, Jigen seems to straddle the border between smooth and rough- one moment, he's pressed against Goemon, almost hungry, and the next it's reserved and deliberately pleasurable, his mouth sliding against the other man's, accompanied by the scratch of stubble from his beard. Goemon murmurs a noise of approval, one hand dropping to Jigen's knee.

After a moment, Jigen's mouth slips to the side in a blatantly unfair move, kissing along Goemon's jawline, the smooth, pale skin of his neck. How he looks so delicate is a mystery to both of them, because they've seen firsthand the brutal training Goemon undergoes regularly, but a nip to the skin above his jugular artery makes a tiny mark, blooming red- Jigen grins and presses his nose insistently into the crook behind Goemon's ear, letting his lips brush his jaw.

"Lupin, you forget that we're all thieves here." He half-laughs, warm puffs of breath against Goemon's skin. Goemon feels a hot flush rising to his cheeks, racing up his neck, flooding his chest. His lips tense a fraction, but relax just as quickly.

Maybe he's naive. Jigen kisses his neck and Lupin lazily wraps his fingers around the wrist of Goemon's free hand, pressing the palm to his lips, and Goemon knows he doesn't care.

~~~~~~

Zenigata hates coincidences.

Of course, that's usually because coincidence tends to work in Lupin's favor. A chance meeting here, a conveniently located hijack-able getaway vehicle there, and the master thief ends up squirming narrowly out of his grasp- it's frustrating, to say the least, so Zenigata lets his passion boil over and shouts and stomps his feet, chases the man who's become the meaning of his life.  
On the other hand, sometimes Lupin's accomplices aren't so lucky, despite the way Lupin's luck seems to rub off on the people around him.

(He's experienced it a few times. Times they've called a temporary truce, worked together for a greater goal, and he's always boggled by how Lupin's natural skill and freakish luck had seemed to warp the very reality around them, making sure everything went their way in the end. It's a heady feeling, he knows now, to be caught up in Lupin's process.)

"Ah- sorry-" Zenigata says from under the rim of his hat when he bumps into the man outside the corner store, hearing the crinkle of a disposable bag and seeing dark slacks out of the corner of his eye before looking up-

-and staring.

The familiar brim of a familiar hat.

"P-pops?!" Jigen yelps like he's been electrocuted, his hat leaping off his head and into the air, exposing wide eyes. "Shit-"

Zenigata blinks. Processing, processing, processing-

"Jigen!" He shouts. "Jigen Daisuke, you're under arrest-"

Jigen bolts off, running down the street, grocery in one hand, pressing his hat to his head with the other, lanky frame sending him sprinting down the sidewalk- he's no match for Zenigata, though, who's used to chasing after vehicles and animals and, hell, Lupin, so when Jigen tries to ditch him by darting into a dark back alley, Zenigata sees and is hot on his tail, brandishing his fist. He tackles the man and brings him down, straddling his back, pressing Jigen's chest to the cold, dirty, damp ground.

"Aha!" He exclaims victoriously, grinning. "Jigen, I've caught you- now, tell me, where's Lupin?"

Jigen slumps in defeat. He props his chin up and reaches forward to grab his hat.

"Pops..." He sighs, turning his head to the side. "I'm a bit hurt, you know. Am I nothing but a gateway to Lupin?"

Zenigata laughs brazenly.

"Stop avoiding the question!" He guffaws in heady success, spurred on by the feeling of Jigen's ribcage rising and falling under his knees. "Take me to your hideout-"

Jigen exhales.

"Fine. You got me this time, pops." He tries to move. "Just- let me up, would you?"

Zenigata hesitates, gritting his teeth, and seems to struggle with himself for a moment- a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush, or something like that- and slaps about three pairs of cuffs on Jigen, from his wrists to his thumbs, and hooks one pair to himself. He steps off, satisfied with his work, and lets Jigen stumble messily to his feet, lurching without the support of his arms. There's a popping noise. He trips and falls forward.

"Ach- watch it-" Zenigata instinctively grabs Jigen's shoulders, holding him upright. There's mud and dirt on his jacket and the front of his slacks. Zenigata feels a momentary pang of remorse for dirtying what's probably one of the man's only clean suits, between car chases and gunshot residue and the general necessity for mobility that a thief has, outside of safe houses, and because suits are damn expensive and Jigen's looks nice, despite the air he tries to give off of not caring about his appearance.

Jigen slumps against him.

"H-hey-" Zenigata stammers. This is strange. "Oi, Jigen, what-"

There's wetness against his fingers.

The color drains from Zenigata's face. He stumbles and catches Jigen's dead weight, and pokes his head over the other man's bony shoulder to glance at his fingertips. As he'd feared, they're covered in blood, drying by the second only to be coated again as he scrabbles to hold onto the back of Jigen's coat.

"What the-?" He mutters in disbelief. There's a clattering from the rooftop above, echoing down the damp, narrow alley, and Zenigata whips his head up fast enough to catch the fringe of the coat of a fleeing suspect.

"Hey!" He shouts, baring his teeth. It's useless, though, because what kind of criminal stops when they're told to? "Get back here!"

"Pops." Jigen's voice rattles, strained, in his ear. His breathing sounds thin. "Forget it. Just- uncuff me."

Zenigata scowls.

"I can't do that." He grits his teeth. "It could be a plot to escape."

Jigen huffs a cynical laugh, slumps even further into him. Zenigata stammers and redoubles his efforts to keep him standing.

"What the hell was that?" He breathes instead. He has to- to assess the damage, triage the wound to stop Jigen from bleeding out here, get him to a hospital-

Jigen swallows. His limbs are trembling. It seems like the shock is wearing off.

"Hitman." He gasps. "He's been following me since I stepped out of the apartment. I- I pissed someone off in this area a while back. Fuck, that stings."

In a situation less dire, Zenigata would roll his eyes. As it is, he purses his lips and tries to shift Jigen's weight onto his one shoulder, but when that doesn't work he hisses in frustration and grabs Jigen under the knees, pulling him off his feet and into Zenigata's arms in some bastardized, uneven bridal-style carry, where Jigen's body is somewhere between 'in his arms' and 'slung over his shoulder'.

Jigen shudders in laughter against him.

"Getting soft in your old age, Pops?" He snickers. "Thought you were gonna throw us to the chair."

Zenigata grumbles.

"Shut up." He mutters. "I still need you to tell me where Lupin is, anyways. You're not dying."

Jigen doesn't reply. Zenigata can't see his face, but from the amount of blood that's soaked into both their clothes, he must be feeling lightheaded.

"Where do you get off calling me 'pops', anyways?" Zenigata keeps talking, moving slowly to the entrance to the alley. "We're almost the same age. If I'm an old geezer, so are you."

"I'm young in spirit." Jigen replies dryly. It's good to know that even bleeding out from a freakishly unforeseeable turn of events, he retains his fatalistic, shithead humor. "You were probably a stubborn old man since you were a kid, Pops."

Zenigata would slap another pair of cuffs on him just for that remark, but they emerge into sunlight. Both men blink in disorientation for a second.

"My car's on this block." Zenigata grunts, moving faster, making his way to the meter that he can barely catch sight of coming closer. "I have first-aid, then we need to go to a hospital-"

Jigen shakes his head minutely.

"Can't go to hospitals." He mutters. "Not big ones. Small doctors for pain meds, that's it."

Zenigata rolls his eyes. He's pink-faced from carrying the other man's weight.

"Does it even matter?" He says, exasperated. "Even if they catch you and call me, you know Lupin would break you out in a matter of days."

Jigen half-smiles.

"Ah, you're accepting it?" He grins.

Zenigata doesn't reply, but drops the hand under Jigen's legs roughly to pop open the passenger side door and unceremoniously dumps Jigen inside. Jigen yelps when his back presses hard against the cheap cloth seats.

"You're the one getting my upholstery all bloody, so shut up." Zenigata runs around the car and jumps into the driver's side, reaching over to fumble with the hatch to the glove compartment and pull out a rather comprehensive first-aid kit.

Jigen exhales and leans his head back against the seat.

"What are the odds?" He moans. "I was gonna get the drop on that guy on the way back and ask him a few questions about the deal in this town, but you have to show up at the worst possible times..."

Zenigata throws a roll of cloth bandage at his head.

"Take off your shirt." He instructs, getting tweezers and a tube of antiseptic.

Jigen snorts.

"Geez, Pops. Buy a guy dinner first, at least." He gripes, and Zenigata is so, so close to hitting him, but he raises bony hands to shrug off his jacket and unbutton his shirt with quick movements. When he'd gotten out of his handcuffs, Zenigata doesn't know. 

It's not a bad wound. The guy must have been a shitty shot- the gangs around here aren't exactly known for having high-caliber snipers, and Zenigata has a momentary thought that he's lucky that the bullet didn't miss Jigen entirely and hit him in the face- but it's in an awkward place, to the side of his ribs and kidneys, and the bullet had gone clean through. He winces.

"You need to go to the damn hospital." He mutters, unraveling the bandage. 

Jigen shuts his eyes, then cracks one open.

"Pops." He says. "If I tell you where our hideout is, would you take me there?"

~~~~~~

A banging on the door.

"Lupin!" Jigen's hoarse voice. "Lupin, open the fucking door. I lost my keys."

Lupin looks at Goemon on the couch, who trades glances with Fujiko, who's sitting legs crossed at the kitchen table, reading something, then gets up to open the front door.

"Hey, Jigen, it took you a while. Did you get my- Pops!" He yelps.

"Yes, I got your Pops." Jigen hisses, almost falling into the room. "Get me some fucking whiskey."

Lupin frowns in concern. Goemon is standing in an instant when he sees Jigen's state and slips his arms under Jigen's, supporting him as he walks to the couch and collapses on it.

"Jigen!" Fujiko exclaims. "You got in trouble again?"

"What happened?" Goemon mutters, casting a wary eye over at Zenigata, who's followed them to the couch, arms crossed. He doesn't look in a hurry to arrest anyone, and his front is covered in blood. "Pops didn't-"

"It wasn't him." Jigen grunts, sliding his fingers over the bandage that's already soaked in blood. "Someone... someone I used to know in the area got the drop on me when Pops cornered me in an alley."

Goemon's brow furrows. Lupin returns with a full bottle of strong alcohol and their box of medical supplies. Goemon and Fujiko are handy with a needle and thread, so they make short work of stitching up Jigen's wounds. The shot had, miraculously, missed nicking the intestines, and the bleeding slows to a sluggish pace. By the time Fujiko leans back in satisfaction with their work, Jigen is down half a bottle of whiskey and pale in the face.

"That should do." Goemon murmurs, wiping his hands on the bloody gauze in his lap. "Jigen, how are you feeling?"

"Peachy." Jigen mutters. Zenigata snorts.

~~~~~~

How did it end up like this?

Zenigata stares up at the ceiling of Lupin's hideout, deep in thought.

He turns over on the couch restlessly. As exhausted as he had been when he had accepted Lupin's bizarre offer of... hospitality... he hadn't been sure exactly what was going to happen.

("You look exhausted, Pops!" Lupin had commented in mock-surprise. "Stay here for tonight, won't you?"

Zenigata had been of half a mind to shout at him and cuff the whole lot, but something stops him today. Maybe it's the fog of fatigue he can feel creeping up on him, or the fact that Jigen had lost three of his nicely polished cuffs and he hasn't eaten in half a day. Whatever compels him to begrudgingly accept Lupin's offer, knowing full well it may be a trap, he doesn't know, but it ends with Goemon cooking dinner and a warm, thick blanket being pushed into his arms.

He can't remember the last time he felt this cared for, short of visiting his parents in Japan. It's mind-boggling. They're supposed to be his mortal enemies, aren't they?)

His mind flashes back to the one night an odd month ago. Zenigata grits his teeth. They had drawn him in with their games and their group mentality until he'd ended up helpless, hopeless, and in bed with the four of them. Sometimes it seems like he can't do anything but chase them.

Zenigata presses his face into the couch pillow. 

"Fuck." He mumbles. 

"Still awake?" A voice comes from behind him. Zenigata will deny the high-pitched yelp that comes out of his throat as he scrambles upwards.

"G-Goemon!" He exclaims, voice rough. "I-"

Goemon looks patently ridiculous in a pink nightgown. Uninvited, he crosses the moonlit room and sits down on the end of the couch that's become Zenigata's bed.

"Thank you." Goemon blurts. "For- for bringing Jigen here instead of arresting him."

Zenigata grumbles. He sits up fully and props his elbows on his knees framing his square jaw.

"It's nothing." He mutters. "I... I don't think I want any of you to die. Spend the rest of your lives in jail, but not death."

Goemon glances sideways at him.

"Any of us?" He murmurs. "I never thought your sentiment extended past Lupin, Inspector Zenigata."

"Shut up." Zenigata growls halfheartedly. 

A half-smile spreads across Goemon's face- like the Mona Lisa, he looks like he knows something Zenigata doesn't- but he declines to comment. Instead, he shifts closer to Zenigata in the near-darkness.

"O-oi. Goemon-" Zenigata stammers. 

Goemon kisses him.

His lips are as soft as he remembers, Zenigata thinks vaguely, feeling lightheaded as though he's the one who'd lost a significant amount of blood instead of Jigen. Goemon's eyes are closed. Zenigata can't help but kiss him back.

"This is a bad idea." Zenigata murmurs against his mouth, but he can't seem to pull away. "You guys are always getting me into trouble..."

Goemon's lips quirk against his in a rare smile.

"Mm." He makes a noise of assent, but the sleeve of his robe drags along Zenigata's knee as he reaches to press his hand along the other man's side. Zenigata sighs.

Somehow, they drift back to sleep together on the sofa.

~~~~~~

"Hey."

Goemon twitches.

"H-e-y."

Next to him, Zenigata stirs.

"Tch. Fine, sleep all day. Make the injured one cook breakfast again."

Zenigata blearily opens his eyes. The first thing he sees is Goemon's cheek. His face is pale and soft-looking, without the pinched severity that hangs upon him sometimes in life. His hair curls darkly against his smooth forehead. It seems delicate, and Zenigata wonders how silky it would feel between his fingers-

He yelps and scrambles upwards.

Jigen is staring at them, slightly hunched.

"Good morning, lovebirds." He grumbles, turning away. Goemon shifts, and his eyes flutter open.

"Jigen." He murmurs, voice rough with sleep, when he sees the other man. "Hnn..."

Jigen rolls his eyes.

"You're late for your training." He says, but leans over to- ah, he kisses him on the cheek in a surprisingly gentle movement, and Zenigata's suddenly vaguely uncomfortable, like he's interrupting something private. The feeling disappears, though, when Jigen turns to him with a similar look in his eye.

"Pops, help me make breakfast." He sighs. 

Zenigata frowns.

"If you're injured, you shouldn't be moving at all." He mutters, gets up. He doesn't have any clothes, and the shirt and pants that Lupin had pushed into his arms to replace his bloodied garments are obviously made for someone with slimmer shoulders and hips than him- it stretches tightly across his chest and legs, not enough to be uncomfortable but enough so that he's constantly aware that the clothes he's wearing are not his own. "Do you have an apron?"

Zenigata points Jigen to take the spot he'd vacated on the couch, insistent as always. Jigen takes a seat next to Goemon, who's fallen back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: im fucking. obsessed with jigens legs. and shoulders . goodbye
> 
> i have more written but it feels like im already kinda ooc... will continue maybe
> 
> ask me about my collection of 'gorgeous goemon' screencaps: [tumblr](http://kimishitaatsushi.tumblr.com), [twitter](https://twitter.com/serpentinej)


End file.
